22 Days of PeaceSample

Declaring Peace

What a place and time it would have been to be out on the sea with Jesus and the disciples in the boat. Wouldn’t you love to have been a fly on the wall, or in this case on the stern of the boat? Picture it, Jesus has just finished a long day of teaching. Great crowds came to hear Him speak. The disciples would’ve been helping Jesus with whatever ministry needs He had and would have also attended to the crowd. No doubt they were all tired from a long day’s work. When it was evening Jesus tells His disciples they are getting in the boat and going to the other side of the lake. No small task at any time of day let alone at the end of a long workday. While they are crossing the sea a windstorm comes up and the disciples, some of who were trained fishermen knowing the dangers of a rough sea, become afraid. It is at this moment the disciples who are noticing the boat filling up with water turn to Jesus and notice He is sound asleep. What a picture of peace! No matter how bad it got around Jesus He was able to rest in the storm. We ought to have that same peace within us. That is easier said than done though. We often respond to our circumstances like the disciples did to Jesus. “God, don’t you care that I am drowning?!” Maybe you have prayed a prayer like that or wondered in your heart the same thing. We do from time to time. Jesus responded to their situation by speaking to the waves and wind. Our English translations are very kind in their language when saying what Jesus spoke here. A more direct translation would be that Jesus hushed the wind and waves and shut their mouth. In doing so He gives us the insight we need when we are in the middle of a storm and need peace. Declare it! Speak it out of your mouth. In doing so you will silence the voice of the storm. Notice I didn’t say that He would remove the problem. The disciples still had water in the boat to deal with. But now the voice of the storm was gone. All of this hinges on how Jesus concluded the matter when he asks them why they were afraid and how they had no faith. If you are listening to the storm rather than the word of God you operate in fear. But when you declare God’s word and believe what you are speaking it removes the fear and brings peace. You can sleep in any storm life brings you because Jesus is with you, His word is true. Take some time in your personal study to find scriptures that deal with the storms you’re facing in life. Declare them over your life and thank God in prayer that the storm has lost its voice and you now have peace in trusting Him.